Qualcomm debuted its latest mobile chip, the Snapdragon 820, which supports Cat 12 LTE downlink and Cat 13 LTE uplink, as well as somewhat controversial LTE-Unlicensed technology.
"The Snapdragon 820 is the most powerful mobile processor we’ve ever made," said Sherif Hanna, Qualcomm senior manager...
Belgium data center struck causing errors on Google Compute Engine persistent disks
Four lightning strikes affecting the power grid around the Google Compute Engine data center in St. Ghislain, Belgium, caused a small data loss and a number of persistent disk errors.
Google uses persistent disks as...
A slowdown in the Chinese economy could have a big impact on some wireless companies, particularly chipmakers. Goldman Sachs analyst David Kostin listed 20 U.S. companies that he said are the most exposed to China.
Qualcomm, Broadcom, Intel, Nvidia and Texas Instruments all made the...
In an executive order issued July 29, President Obama outlined policy steps designed “to maximize benefits of high performance computing research, development and deployment …”
As outlined, the National Strategic Computing Initiative aims to create a new supercomputer that performs 100 times faster than what’s...
In a live keynote address, Intel and partner, Micron Technology, unveiled their new 3D Xpoint storage chip, which they claim is 1,000 times faster than current flash memory capabilities.
With the announcement, the companies defined a new nonvolatile chip category that works entirely without transistors.
"For...
Pressured by Chinese competitors and domestic investors, Qualcomm has decided to undertake a "strategic realignment" that will include roughly 4,500 layoffs. Qualcomm said it will streamline its engineering operations and consolidate some offices.
The world's largest maker of chips for mobile devices employs more than...
Chipmaker also facing new antitrust allegations
Qualcomm is reportedly weighing several options, including job cuts, to boost profits as it prepares to discuss its annual earnings.
One of the options could include job cuts, according to a report by The Information. The report, which cites unnamed sources,...
The way mobile operators market devices and design service plans could change dramatically if a reported collaboration between carriers and device makers comes to fruition. According to the Financial Times, AT&T, Apple, Samsung and several European carriers are close to announcing an agreement to...
IBM unveils 7-nanometer node chips
A partnership with Samsung, GlobalFoundries and the state of New York has helped IBM achieve a major advance in semiconductor technology. Today the company said that it has produced working chips using a 7-nanometer node process.
Smaller process nodes can dramatically...
We are getting our first look at the new iPhone 6S. While there are no real external changes, there are some big upgrades inside.
According to a report by 9 to 5 Mac, the biggest upgrade for the iPhone 6 will be a redesigned wireless...
The operator aims to invest $400M in the next two to three years
South East Asia Telecom has partnered with Chinese infrastructure provider ZTE to deploy a FDD-LTE network in Cambodia.
Under the terms of the agreement, ZTE will be the exclusive provider of end-to-end 4G solutions and products, including...
On June 1, chipmaking giant Intel announced plans to purchase smaller competitor Altera for $16.7 billion, or $54 a share, in an all-cash deal.
Consolidation in the semiconductor industry is clearly a trend. Last week Avago Technologies announced a $37 billion deal to acquire Broadcom...
Latest semiconductor merger follows Avago buy of Broadcom, NXP purchase of Freescale
Chip-making giant Intel plans to purchase smaller competitor Altera for $16.7 billion – that’s $54 per share – in an all-cash deal, according to a June 1 announcement from the Santa Clara, Calif.-based powerhouse.
Intel CEO...
Avago Technologies has agreed to buy Broadcom for $37 billion in cash and stock. Although Avago's market value is higher than Broadcom's, Broadcom is the larger company by revenue. The California chipmaker had $8.4 billion in revenue last year, 70% more than Avago's $4.9...
Qualcomm is helping two of China's biggest companies meet the demand for LTE. Huawei, China Mobile and Qualcomm said they have completed a commercial verification of LTE-TDD inter-band three-component carrier aggregation. Carrier aggregation refers to the combination of different spectrum bands to form a...
Facing pressure from shareholders, chipmaker Altera is reportedly back in acquisition talks with Intel.
The New York Post first reported the rumor earlier this week that Altera has returned to the bargaining table, citing an anonymous source with direct knowledge of the talks who said...
Chip news from Altair, Broadcom and MediaTek
AT&T gives LTE-only a boost
Israel's Altair Semiconductor said today that its FourGee-3800/6300 chipset has completed AT&T’s ADAPT chipset validation. Altair makes LTE-only chipsets, which so far have primarily been used in tablets. Tablets do not need to make...
The market for microscopic mechanical systems for mobile devices appears to be gaining momentum, so RCR Wireless News takes a closer look at the ecosystem and some RF MEMS basics.
What are MEMS and RF MEMS?
MEMS are micro electro-mechanical systems – microscopic devices that rely on mechanical movements....
Apple under pressure
Apple's iTunes may face some legal challenges. The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly trying to find out whether iTunes is using its marketplace muscle to get songs into its paid services instead of free-streaming services. Apple of course is working on its...
Cases convert RF into usable power; Kickstarter funding campaign coming soon
Research and development firm Nikola Labs is set to launch a crowd-funding campaign to bring to market a new smartphone case that purportedly turns energy from Wi-Fi, LTE and Bluetooth into direct current power...
Apple smartphones continue surge in China; Samsung sees decrease
Analysts with United Kingdom-based Juniper Research tracked 350.9 million smartphones shipping in the first quarter of 2015; that’s a 23% increase from the same time period last year.
Juniper found that Samsung is the leading smartphone seller,...
Chipmaker Qualcomm on April 23 reported revenue of $6.9 billion on net income of $1.05 billion, or $1.40 per share, for its fiscal 2015 second quarter ended March 29.
Although net income was down 46% compared to the prior year's Q2, the results still surpassed...
Activist investor Jana Partners is reportedly urging Qualcomm to consider separating its chip business from its patent-licensing business. The California company holds a number of key wireless patents, and its patent-licensing business has signficantly higher profit margins than its chip business.
In response to the...
Intel also spends $16M on IoT and $13M on angel fund
WASHINGTON – At the Intel Developer Forum last week, the company announced plans to spend $24 million on a mass-market accelerator program in China.
Intel claims the program is designed to allow Chinese innovators and...
